Abstract

The purpose of this paper is an evaluation of how 47 Health and Environmentally conscious entrepreneurs who began businesses in the 1980s-90s fared. The analysis was based on research done through interviews and surveys performed between 1987-1990 and by follow-ups to determine what happened to the sample. It was found that the industry had grown and had done well and that a lot of its success could be attributed to pioneering entrepreneurs, such as this sample, who faced much skepticism for their efforts. While the sustainable and green movements are now embraced by the larger population, the incubator period captured by this research was an environment at best of skepticism and more often of hostility.